One thing that I may have mentioned here is that, before I was lured to the blogging industry by the outrageous lucre on offer, I worked at this little establishment called Goldman Sachs. One thing that I probably haven’t told you, but that I’ve mentioned to a few friends and co-workers, is that due to some frankly inexplicable confusion, the time between my telling people “I am leaving to go work for Dealbreaker” and my being escorted out of the building by active-duty Navy SEALS was somewhat longer than you might expect (viz. several nanoseconds). One thing that I’ve never told anybody, so let’s keep it between us, is that I made good use of the delay to download certain files to a flash drive. I won’t discuss all the details, since I’m using some of those files to set up my own high-frequency insider trading fund, but I will mention that with the right codes the voice recorders in the GS elevators can be accessed remotely.*
One reason I never told anyone about this before is that Goldman takes it badly when people take stuff with them on the way out, and has a tendency to react by having them imprisoned for the better part of a decade. After today, though, it looks like I’m good to go: Continue reading »
I mean, seriously. For a guy who spilled everything and talked for four straight hours to the FBI before even saying the word “lawyer” in passing, for that kind of nightmare client, Sergey’s lawyer is doing pretty well.
Of course, when you factor in the seriousness of any public relations mess created by a Sergey spill during any trial, it doesn’t really matter much to Goldman what the guy did or did not say to the FBI, or even if he spends a minute longer behind bars.
Today was the day for prosecutors to indict Aleynikov, who was arrested on July 3 on the theft charges. But in a court filing, prosecutors told the presiding magistrate judge that they need another 14 days to continue discussions with Aleynikov’s lawyer about a “possible disposition.”
After receiving his conditional discharge/probation, what, exactly, will Sergey be paid not to write a tell-all book about Goldman? Will Sergey Cut a Deal? [Reuters Blogs]
Yesterday afternoon, Matthew Goldstein suggested there was a possibility that Twinkle Toes Aleynikov had felt he’d been stiffed by Goldman re: compensation (Serge was paid $400,000 as a computer programmer last year), supplemental income from dancing apparently not covering the bills. That’s presumably why he left 85 Broad to go work for Teza Technologies, which was set to throw $1.2 million his way before he ran in to some legal issues and was suspended without pay. Rob Cox at BreakingViews is now thinking that, while Teza probably (though not definitely) didn’t explicitly tell ‘Nikov his take-home was getting tripled with the expectation he’d show up for the first day of work having ripped off his former employer, there might’ve been some nodding and winking to that effect. If not the secret codes than something, anything from the building that the start-up could’ve gotten some mileage out of, be it GS pens or Lloyd Blankfein’s essence, sucked out by Serge during one dangerous (but worth it) mission to the men’s room. And if you think about it, instead of getting their panties in a bunch over a coupla jacked megabytes of data, the Masters o’ the U should be looking at this whole thing as a source of pride. Everybody wants a piece of their shit.
[...] A Goldman Education [BreakingViews]
That this is what happens when you f a stranger and/or employee in the ass? In the figurative sense of not compensating him as much as he thought was deserved (we can’t speak to whatever off the clock relationship Aleynikov had with Lloyd Blankfein)? Matthew Goldstein, who broke the story, says yes.
Bail for Sergey Aleynikov, the programmer accused of stealing trading codes from Goldman Sachs (his former employer) has been set at $750,000. Red needs “three financially responsible people” to post bond. If his promise of innocence isn’t enough to convince anyone here to put up the money, how about his dancing feet? Surely the big hearted individuals willing to lay out the cash would be treated to at least one or two private performances by Sergey and his wife, Elina, who are competitive ballroom dancers. Don’t say no, just say maybe and have a look-see at what you’d be in for:
A Goldman Trading Scandal? (Reuters)
Matthew Goldstein: “While most in the US were celebrating the 4th of July, a Russian immigrant living in New Jersey was being held on federal charges of stealing top-secret computer trading codes from a major New York-based financial institution–that sources say is none other than Goldman Sachs.
The allegations, if true, are big news because the codes the accused man, Sergey Aleynikov, tried to steal is the secret code to unlocking Goldman’s automated stocks and commodities trading businesses. Federal authorities allege the computer codes and related-trading files that Aleynikov uploaded to a German-based website help this major “financial institution” generate millions of dollars in profits each year.”
Seven U.S. Banks Seized in Busiest Year for Closures Since 1992 (Bloomberg)
SheBair’s had her hands full. GM Asset Sale Gets Judge’s Nod (WSJ)
So that’s exciting.
Capital Fund CEO Aguilar Killed in Gliding Accident But Don’t Worry, Your $ Is Safe (Bloomberg)
“The firm has gone through several crises in the past and we want to reassure our investors that this terrible event will not interrupt CFM’s high level of service or impact its ability to provide outstanding long-term investment returns,” the e- mailed letter to investors dated yesterday said. “Jean-Pierre has assembled a terrific team, where all individuals are important but none, not even himself, are critical.” Ryanair wants passengers to STAND UP during flights (Daily Mail)
Ryanair estimates it would be able to pack in 30 percent more passengers while slashing costs by 20 percent. No word on how this will be affected. SEC May Reinstate Rules For Short-Selling (NYT)
“You want some sort of a dampener in periods like the fourth quarter of last year,” Joseph M. Mecane, the chief administrative officer for United States markets at the NYSE said, “and let the stock breathe a bit.” Mob Scene For Jacko Funeral (NYP)
Up to 1 million “Jackophiles” expected to hit up the Staples Center memorial, tickets for which were selling for up to $20,000 on eBay late last night.
Biden: “We Misread How Bad The Economy Was” (ABC)
One thing that I may have mentioned here is that, before I was lured to the blogging industry by the outrageous lucre on offer, I worked at this little establishment called Goldman Sachs. One thing that I probably haven’t told you, but that I’ve mentioned to a few friends and co-workers, is that due to some frankly inexplicable confusion, the time between my telling people “I am leaving to go work for Dealbreaker” and my being escorted out of the building by active-duty Navy SEALS was somewhat longer than you might expect (viz. several nanoseconds). One thing that I’ve never told anybody, so let’s keep it between us, is that I made good use of the delay to download certain files to a flash drive. I won’t discuss all the details, since I’m using some of those files to set up my own high-frequency insider trading fund, but I will mention that with the right codes the voice recorders in the GS elevators can be accessed remotely.*
